BEIRUT (Dispatches) – The Hezbollah resistance movement has warned Lebanese authorities of Washington’s attempts to push Beirut to establish formal relations with the Zionist regime during indirect U.S.-mediated talks over their maritime dispute to allow for offshore energy exploration.
“In light of recent developments concerning maritime demarcation talks, indication is that American mediators are trying to impose a fait accompli in the hope that it would open up the window of normalization with Israel,” the Loyalty to the Resistance Bloc, the political wing of Hezbollah in the Lebanese parliament, said in a statement on Thursday.
It added that the Beirut government is fully responsible for indirect talks with the Zionist regime to discuss demarcation.
“Nevertheless, the national duty of the government requires it to urge relevant authorities to exercise increased vigilance in order to avoid hidden traps. Normalization with the Zionist regime is completely rejected and not acceptable under any pretext,” the statement pointed out.
Earlier this month, Vice President of the Executive Council of Hezbollah Sheikh Ali Damoush stressed that U.S.-mediated talks between Lebanon and the occupying regime regarding a dispute over their Mediterranean Sea will not result in normalization with the occupying regime.
Addressing worshipers during a sermon on February 11, Sheikh Damoush underscored that the Lebanese representatives must never accept U.S. initiatives that would not conform to Lebanon’s rights.
Lebanese politicians hope that commercially viable hydrocarbon resources off Lebanon’s coast could help lift the debt-ridden country out of its worst economic crisis in decades.
Meanwhile, people in Bahrain took to the streets across the Persian Gulf island country on Friday to condemn the normalization of relations with the Zionist regime and recent visits by occupying regime officials to Manama.
Stomping on the Zionist regime’s flag, the protesters chanted slogans against the regime’s officials and their mercenaries.
During their protest rallies, the demonstrators also marked the eleventh anniversary of the February 14 uprising against the Al Khalifah regime as it continues its heavy-handed crackdown on dissent in the tiny Persian Gulf country.